Our Brain On Sleep

Ever since I started my journey as a “sleep specialist”, I’ve wondered about the function of sleep. I’ve wondered about the mind and body’s relationship to sleep (or lack of it). This line of questioning has led me to read many articles, watch many videos and have many breakthrough insights which I am happy now to share with this blog.

Many of the sleep experts have similar conclusions about sleep. They say a lack of sleep causes stress, anger, mood swings, and can lead to drinking and smoking. I found myself asking, what is it about a lack of sleep that causes the conditions mentioned? It was in a TED talk from Jeff Iliff that I found some of the answers I was looking for.

Here is the video of his TED talk below:

In the video, Jeff talks about how the brain uses ¼ of our energy, and then needs to conduct a cleaning cycle, which only occurs while we sleep. This cleaning is super important, and it might explain why we feel mental “fogginess” when we don’t get the right sleep. Without the proper sleep in our lives, we miss out on this critical function of the brain to eliminate waste. In another video, Russell Foster correlates the major mental health issues of our age (bi-polar, schizophrenia, alzheimer's etc) with irregular sleep patterns.

Watch Russel Foster's talk in the video below:

It has never been more apparent that we need a good night's sleep if we want to maintain mental clarity, peaceful moods and creative thoughts. So I encourage you to grab a body pillow and go deep. Find the sleep solutions that will help you stay in one position, maintain proper alignment and really let your body fully rest. You deserve the best sleep of your life, and we’re here to help.